“A” for Attitude
English was always my favorite subject. In my freshman year of high school, I could write a killer composition. In my second year, my teacher me to give spelling tests to the class. I had a time of my junior year. Mrs Alexander me to sit at her desk and take over the class when she had to leave the room. Only my senior English class was , as we had a teacher right out of college who expected work. Every student received a "C" or "D" grade the first quarter. But English was still my favorite subject.
I graduated from high school, early and had children. about my English, I often helped my kids with their English homework. And I wrote long articles and beautiful poetry as a columnist for a newspaper. Fifteen years later, I went to college, and because I had been an "A" student, I remained an "A" student. I up to my own expectations.
Yesterday, I my high school report cards when I was reading old papers. That bundle of report cards back the old days. I remembered sitting in my advisor's office, explaining that I had always be at English, and recommending that I did not deserve a '"D" from that inexperienced teacher of my senior year. The advisor was but unable to change a(an) . Reading through my old report cards revealed something else too. I wanted to them or hide them. I was not an "A" student in high school English! Somehow, I had myself of this, when the grades clearly reflected an average student with an "A" or "B" but mostly "C” S.
Had I lived up to those grades and myself according to those letters, I would have never confidently sought my writing career. Had I my early grades instead of myself, I would have allowed my fear of failure to enthusiasm and damage my creativity. Instead, I my younger self as an "A" English student, except for that undeserved "D".
A．scolded B．allowed C．ordered D．reminded
A．bad B．complex C．terrible D．wonderful
A．approved B．appointed C．expected D．urged
A．flexible B．creative C．disappointing D．controversial
A．college-level B．based C．difficult D．easy
A．married B．worked C．succeeded D．progressed
A．Sad B．Confident C．Anxious D．Curious
A．added B．lived C．grew D．went
A．counted B．remembered C．approached D．discovered
A．brought B．turned C．held D．kept
A．nervous B．good C．poor D．terrible
A．impolite B．impatient C．inexperienced D．sympathetic
A．grade B．figure C．paper D．entry
A．tear B．fire C．cry D．escape
A．warned B．reminded C．informed D．convinced
A．average B．enthusiastic C．outstanding D．occasional
A．considered B．denied C．reflected D．described
A．abandoned B．given C．believed in D．doubted
A．change B．risk C．defeat D．reminded
A．looked B．viewed C．sang D．criticized
The very wealthy English Baron Fitzgerald had only one child, a son, who understandably was the apple of his eye. His wife died when the child was in his early teens. So Fitzgerald __ himself to fathering the kid. , the son died in his late teens.
Meanwhile, Fitzgerald’s wealth greatly . He spent a lot on art works of the . Later Fitzgerald himself became ill. Before his death, he had carefully prepared his
_ _ as to how his wealth would be — to sell his entire collection at an auction（拍卖）.
Because of the large quantity and high of his collection, a huge crowd of __ buyers gathered for the auction. Many of them were museum and private collectors eager to . Before the auction, the art works were shown, among, which was a painting of Fitzgerald’s son by an unknown artist. Because of its quality, it received little attention.
When it was time for the auction, the auctioneer gaveled（敲槌）the crowd to . First the lawyer from Fitzgerald’s will that the first art work to be auctioned was the painting of his __ .
The poor-quality painting didn’t any bidders... except one — the old servant who had __ _ the son and loved him, and who for emotional reasons the only bid.
As soon as the servant bought the painting for less than one English pound, the auctioneer __ the bidding and asked the lawyer to read again from the will. The crowd became , and the lawyer read from the will: “Whoever buys the painting of my son gets all my collection.” Then the auction was over.
A．expected B．appointed C．devoted D．booked
A．Finally B．Luckily C．Secondly D．Unfortunately
A．declined B．increased C．remained D．affected
A．partners B．masters C．servants D．volunteers
A．seriously B．slightly C．lightly D．gradually
A．matter B．notice C．letter D．will
A．settled B．dealt C．involved D．banned
A．price B．spirit C．quality D．attraction
A．traditional B．possible C．occasional D．absent
A．directors B．fans C．supporters D．competitors
A．call B．bid C．reject D．order
A．known B．famous C．poor D．cheap
A．attention B．principle C．saying D．party
A．heard B．told C．wrote D．read
A．wife B．servant C．director D．son
A．receive B．remind C．need D．plan
A．worked B．served C．lived D．waited
A．played B．applied C．offered D．accepted
A．lost B．got C．continued D．stopped
A．noisy B．eager C．quiet D．anxious
A few weeks after my first wife, Georgia, was called to heaven, I was cooking dinner for my son and myself. For a , I had decided on frozen peas. As I was cutting open the bag, it from my hand and crashed to the floor. The peas, like marbles, everywhere. I tried to use a broom, with each swipe they just rolled across the kitchen．
For the next week, every time I was in the , I found a pea---in a corner, or behind a table leg. They kept . Eight months later I pulled out the refrigerator to clean behind it, and 12 frozen peas hidden underneath．
At the time I found those few remaining , I was in a new relationship with a wonderful I’d met in a support group. After we married, I was reminded those peas under the refrigerator, and realized that my had been like that bag of frozen peas. It had shattered（破碎）. My wife had died; I was in a new city with a busy job, and with a son having trouble his new surroundings and the of his mother. I was a bag of spilled frozen peas; my life had come apart and scattered．
When life gets you , when everything you know comes apart, and when you think you’ll never , remember that it’s just a bag of scattered frozen peas. The peas can be , and life will move on. You’ll find all the peas , including the ones that are hardest to find. And when you’ve got them you’ll start to feel whole again．
The life you know can break apart at any time. But you’ll have to , and how fast you collect your peas depends on you. Will you keep scattering them around with a broom, will you pick them up one by one and put your life back together?
A．drink B．vegetable C．fruit D．meat
A．slipped B．walked C．ran D．moved
A．rubbed B．rolled C．grew D．existed
A．so B．and C．although D．but
A．kitchen B．living room C．bedroom D．storeroom
A．turning up B．getting up C．taking up D．using up
A．left B．ate C．found D．planted
A．presents B．cans C．vegetables D．peas
A．woman B．child C．man D．boy
A．for B．of C．with D．in
A．wife B．life C．son D．friend
A．adjusting to B．leading to C．turning to D．adding to
A．thank B．loss C．help D．love
A．close B．near C．down D．wide
A．get it B．leave it C．take it D．make it
A．grew B．bought C．frozen D．collected
A．specially B．fortunately C．properly D．eventually
A．both B．all C．either D．each
A．move on B．put on C．bring on D．call on
A．while B．because C．or D．since
Money was a constant source of tension and stress when I was growing up. My parents were , well-educated and hard-working, but they lived from paycheck to paycheck. When I was 13, they split up. Then my mom to raise three kids, often relying on free lunch tickets and food stamps. As my mother retirement age, she was filled with over the fact that she hadn’t saved enough for her golden retirement years, she often sighed. My father had always been to work—we had always he’d work less and spend more time with us . But he is just a workaholic(工作狂).
My parents were trying so hard to make ends meet, so I couldn’t become a on them. As a result, I college and spent the next couple of years drifting from one minimum wage job to another. I my broken-down car, went to work on foot, reduced my by sharing a one-bedroom apartment with three other women, and got free food during Happy Hour at our local bar. I learned to do whatever it took to .
One night, while I was working at a donut shop and 34 coffee for a homeless customer, I that I was one paycheck away from being homeless myself. That was my wake-up . Motivated by fear of an uncertain , I opened the Yellow Pages(电话黄页), professional dog trainers and negotiated an unpaid apprenticeship(学徒工作). Less than a year later, I was by a dog trainer, and I loved the work. A couple of years later, I started my own dog-training school, which luckily turned out to be . My efforts paid off.
Though I didn’t have rich parents to rely on, I discovered the power of asking for what I want.
A．clever B．careful C．greedy D．powerless
A．hoped B．struggled C．attempted D．refused
A．counted B．imagined C．mentioned D．approached
A．curiosity B．disagreement C．anxiety D．happiness
A．if B．so C．but D．because
A．addicted B．similar C．related D．familiar
A．believed B．guessed C．said D．wished
A．though B．yet C．instead D．too
A．danger B．burden C．challenge D．threat
A．dropped out of B．was admitted into C．went in D．went through
A．paid for B．cleaned out C．gave away D．fixed up
A．clothes B．dinner C．weight D．rent
A．survive B．work C．play D．pay
A．buying B．making C．tasting D．smelling
A．recalled B．promised C．feared D．realized
A．sign B．hit C．call D．period
A．future B．job C．mood D．family
A．searched B．phoned C．invited D．persuaded
A．honored B．reminded C．hired D．moved
A．hard B．tiring C．efficient D．successful
My daughter has been crazy about raising a pet for a long time. Last spring I bought two newly-hatched(孵化) chickens for her. She got and took good care of them. , a few days later, both chickens died. She burst into tears because of .I helped her the two birds under a tree behind our house. I thought it would be the of her ideas.
, I was wrong . Children are children . The failure hasn’t my daughter in any way. She still tried to keep a small animal or even a snail.
One day last winter, I noticed under the eaves(屋檐) of the house a family of sparrows(麻雀). My daughter and I could the sparrows as our “pets”, but we didn’t.
So I told her to the grains on the windowsill（窗台）. A few minutes later, the sparrows came to land on the windowsill and pecked(啄) at the rice. Suddenly my daughter asked me, Mum, can we catch and the sparrows, and let them live with us in the room？ How it is for them to live outside？
“Oh, my dear. I do not think it’s a good idea. You know,” I explained to her, “the sparrow is a bird who loves .No one can keep them in a cage. If they are caught, they will quickly. They are to living outside. Moreover, they have warm nest under the eaves.
From then on, we have set up a kind of with the sparrow family. We feed them frequently and them as pet birds. However, we do not need to them. We seeing these little birds flying and jumping among branches, leaves and flowers in the spring morning.
A．exciting B．excited C．disappointed D．encouraged
A．Naturally B．Suddenly C．Unfortunately D．Finally
A．leaving B．their death C．the chickens D．them
A．Bury B．put C．dig D．set
A．end B．beginning C．wish D．reality
A．Thus B．Then C．However D．Therefore
A．at all B．in all C．after all D．for all
A．encourage B．upset C．help D．impress
A．look B．act C．feed D．catch
A．throw B．pour C．pile D．scatter
A．one after another B．one another C．every other D．each other
A．stay B．love C．cage D．watch
A．free B．happy C．cold D．warm
A．freedom B．spring C．flying D．trees
A．please B．starve C．suffer D．die
A．safe B．used C．proud D．happy
A．neighbor B．understanding C．friendship D．relationship
A．think B．treat C．dream D．appreciate
A．hurt B．possess C．belong to D．hatch
A．enjoy B．would like C．want D．consider
I was a single parent of four small children, working at a low-paid job. Money was always tight, but we had a over our heads, food on the table, clothes on our backs, and if not a lot, always . Not knowing we were poor, my kids(孩子们) just thought I was . I’ve always been glad about that.
It was Christmas time, and although there wasn’t for a lot of gifts, we planned to celebrate with a family party. But the big for the kids was the fun of Christmas .
They planned weeks ahead of time, asking what they wanted for Christmas. Fortunately, I had saved $120 for to share by all five of us.
The big arrived. I gave each kid a twenty-dollar bill and them to look for gifts of about four dollars each. Then everyone scattered(散开). We had two hours to shop; then we would back at the “Santa’s Workshop”.
Driving home, everyone was in high Christmas spirits, my younger daughter, Ginger, who was unusually . She had only one small, flat bag with a few candies— fifty-cent candies! I was so angry, but I didn’t say anything we got home. I called her into my bedroom and closed the door, to be angry again. This is what she told me：
“I was looking thinking of what to buy, and I to read the little cards on the ‘Giving Trees’.One was for a little girl, four years old, and all she for Christmas was a doll(玩具娃娃). So I took the card off the tree and the doll for her. We have so much and she doesn’t have anything.”
I never felt so as I did that day.
A．roof B．hat C．sky D．star
A．little B．less C．enough D．more
A．busy B．serious C．strict D．kind
A．effort B．room C．time D．money
A．improvement B．problem C．surprise D．excitement
A．shopping B．travelling C．parties D．greetings
A．the other B．each other C．one by one D．every other one
A．toys B．clothes C．presents D．bills
A．day B．chance C．cheque D．tree
A．forced B．reminded C．invited D．begged
A．draw B．stay C．move D．meet
A．including B．besides C．except D．regarding
A．quiet B．excited C．happy D．ashamed
A．since B．after C．while D．until
A．waiting B．ready C．hoping D．afraid
A．out B．over C．forward D．around
A．forgot B．stopped C．failed D．hated
A．wanted B．did C．got D．played
A．made B．searched C．bought D．fetched
A．angry B．rich C．patient D．bitter
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